40 Garlic Chicken

This flavorful chicken dish is for garlic lovers only. Roasted garlic has a sweet, nutty taste, so even though there is a lot of garlic in the sauce, it does not have a garlic bite. A great wine to pair with this dish is Fenn Valley Edelzwicker, Dry Riesling, or Cabernet Franc.

• 1 whole chicken, cut up as described below.
• ¼ cup salt dissolved in 2 quarts of cold water
• 6 heads garlic
• 2 large shallots, peeled and cut into thumb-sized pieces
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• 1 tsp dried Thyme
• 3-4 sprigs rosemary
• 4 bay leaves
• ¾ cup chicken broth
• 1 cup Lakeshore Demi-Sec

Preheat oven to 400°F. Using a boning shears, cut up each side of the backbone and remove. Cut the chicken breast in half. Cut off the wings and the legs, and separate the thighs from the drumsticks. Cut each breast half into two pieces. Remove the skin from all of the chicken pieces and discard. Dissolve ¼ cup salt in 2 quarts of water in a gallon ziplock baggie. Place the chicken pieces in the brine, seal the bag, and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour, turning it over after 30 minutes.

Remove the loose papery shell of the garlic heads. Use a knife to cut off the tip of each garlic clove in the 6 heads of garlic. Wrap the shallots and the garlic heads in foil and drizzle a little olive oil onto the garlic heads so that the oil enters the cloves. Close the foil package(s) and bake in the 400° over for 60 minutes. The garlic should be lightly browned, soft, and have a nutty character. Increase the oven heat to 450°F. When the garlic cools, squeeze the garlic cloves out of the heads into a small bowl.

Remove the chicken from the brine and discard the brine. Blot the chicken dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a 12 inch oven-proof skillet until smoking. Add the chicken, do not crowd the skillet. Brown the chicken for 5-8 minutes on each side until the chicken is lightly browned. Remove to a plate to drain. Repeat with remaining chicken if needed.

Drain excess grease or oil from the skillet and add the broth and the wine. Deglaze the pan over low heat. Add the herbs, the shallots, and the roasted garlic cloves, and stir to distribute. Tightly nestle the chicken pieces in the broth, with the tops of the chicken pieces exposed above the liquid. Place in a 450°F over and bake until the thickest part of the breast reaches 160-165° and the thickest part of the drumstick/thigh is 170-175°F.

Remove the check to a serving plate and tent with foil. Discard the rosemary and the bay leaves. Skim off any accumulated grease. Bring to a boil and whisk until the garlic is broken up and the sauce is smooth. Simmer until the sauce is slightly thickened, pour over the chicken pieces, and serve with brown rice or with a garlicky marinara sauce and pasta.

Serves 4